Job Accelerator Grant Scheme

Mr BELL (Mount Gambier) (14:44): Supplementary: given the Treasurer's answer, why is it that the NAB Monthly Business Survey shows a downturn in business conditions and business confidence in South Australia?

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS (West Torrens—Treasurer, Minister for Finance, Minister for State Development, Minister for Mineral Resources and Energy) (14:44): The same report shows that we had the second highest business confidence in the nation.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The Premier is called to order.

Members interjecting:

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: Well, criticising the NAB. Their survey has been doctored by me, has it? Yes, I can just imagine the phone call to Ken Henry: 'Ken, it's Tom. I want you to change the NAB business survey.' I have to say that the Liberal opposition pick and choose the stats they want to try to suit their narrative, but when you look at the actual stats, you're showing that we had the second highest jobs growth in the nation.

Ms Sanderson: A liability of $66 billion?

The SPEAKER: The member for Adelaide is on two warnings.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: There were 4,000 jobs created.

Mr BELL: Point of order: relevance, sir. I asked about the downturn in business confidence and conditions. The minister is nowhere near that.

The SPEAKER: No, you asked about the NAB report and you're getting more than you bargained for.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: Mr Speaker, I feel sorry for the member for Mount Gambier. He is actually a good member of parliament. He works hard for his local community. He is out there fighting for more exploration drill wells in the South-East for conventional gas, and I want to thank him personally for his support of conventional gas drilling in the South-East. The amount of support that the member for Mount Gambier is giving this government in our plan to extract more gas out of the South-East is unprecedented. Drill, baby, drill!